The Seu Universitaria Casa Nova today hosted the presentation of the event "Sport Tourism Focus Calpe 2021", a meeting held both in person and by streaming to discuss the possibilities of sports tourism as a driver of the post-pandemic economy. The conference is organised by the Calp Town Council's Tourism Department, Casa Nova de Calp College, the University of Alicante, the Costa Blanca Sports Tourism Association and the Provincial Tourist Board.
The event will take place on 7 May and will include four presentations and two round tables. Attendees can listen to Fabián Quesada, director of the Spanish Sports Federation with the presentation "Sports tourism as a dynamic element of the regions", Jacobo Suárez of Goodlife Consultants with "Developing a strategic plan for positioning a destination in sports tourism", Antonio Bolaños ex-CEO of Volvo Ocean Race and professor at IMEP with "The ODS in sports tourism" and Matias Ximelis commercial director and co-founder of Cycling Friendly with "New innovative trends in cycling tourism".
There will also be two round tables entitled "Sports Tourism Destination Calp" and "The Market of Cycling Tourism Events and its Economic Impact" with the participation of several local and provincial participants. In addition, the day will conclude with the presentation of the course "Creation and Management of Sports Tourism Companies".
In today's presentation, the Councillor for Tourism, Paco Avargues, said that "this conference will serve to position Calp as a safe destination for sports tourism, which is key to reviving the economy after the pandemic".
For his part, UA professor José Antonio Pérez Turpin has highlighted Calp's potential as a sports destination due to its sports infrastructure, geography and climate: "In Calp you can practice 27 Olympic sports, it is a privilege and a model for a sports destination".
The President of the Alicante Sports Tourism Association, Francisco Fresno, has pointed out that "the sports industry and tourism will be key to economic revitalisation and is proud to present this event which aims to have continuity in time".
The Vice-Rector for Culture, Sport and University Extension, Catalina Iliescu, pointed out in her speech that "Calp has an extraordinary potential for the leisure and tourism industry. Experts say that destinations that have traditionally built their offer on "sun and beach" need to be transformed to offer other values, and Calp is in this line to become a safe destination and an important centre of Southern Europe, able to lead sports tourism events".
In conclusion, the Mayor, Ana Sala, thanked all the entities and people involved in the organisation of this event, adding that "when you talk about sports tourism, you talk about Calp, teams come here every year for their pre-season, we have the ideal geographical and climatic conditions for the practice of many sports".